Your Rich BFF Vivian Tu on Why Room Service Is a Travel Essential
The finance influencer shares her best travel tips, favorite vacations, and why she never checks a bag
Let’s face it, financial jargon is confusing AF. Tax-loss harvesting? Stagflation? Single-stock investing? What does any of this even mean? Luckily, Your Rich BFF Vivian Tu is here to break it down for you.
Tu is an author, businesswoman, and media personality best known for founding the media company Your Rich BFF, a platform all about making financial education accessible to the public. For the last four years, Tu, who got her start trading stocks at JP Morgan, has been sharing finance advice online. Since becoming a full-time influencer in 2022, Tu has launched a podcast Networth & Chill and released her first book, Rich AF: The Winning Money Mindset that Will Change Your Life.
Most recently, Tu partnered with Marshalls to bring The Upgrade Lounge, a free, public pop-up lounge with complimentary beverages, snacks, and self-care essentials, to JFK. Plus, she's promoting the The Upgrade Shop, a new summer-inspired shoppable edit on the Marshalls website.
Tu sat down with associate editor Annie Harrigan at The Upgrade Lounge to share her hottest travel tips, why she only travels with a carry-on, and how she went on an international trip with her now husband only a month into dating.
Thrillist: What is your favorite travel memory?
Vivian Tu: My favorite travel memory is the very first adult vacation I ever took. I had only known my now husband for about a month, but I needed a travel buddy. We ended up doing one week in Positano, Italy, and one week in Santorini, Greece. We had little to no budget because we were in our early twenties, so we did the planes, trains, automobiles thing. It is one of the fondest memories I have because I got to spend time falling in love with someone.
How did you pitch going on a major international trip to someone who barely knew you?
VT: I was like, “So, what are you doing for your vacation this year?” And he was like, “No plans yet.” And I was like, “Would you want to go on vacation with me?” We very literally had just started seeing each other. And maybe that was irresponsible and maybe it was just on a whim, but it worked out okay.
What is the one thing you do in every place you travel to?
VT: Okay, so this is a tradition. The very first day that we get there, usually we're pretty jet lagged and tired. So we'll get room service. Growing up, my parents pretended that if you drank a Coca-Cola out of the mini bar or you got room service the entire family would go bankrupt. Now as an adult who really values traveling, I really value those experiences.
What's your go-to room service order?
VT: It depends. I really try to have whatever cuisine the area that I'm traveling to is known for. So obviously when I'm in Italy, I want the pastas. When I'm in Asia, I will get whatever noodle dish or a rice dish is really popular there. When I'm in Mexico, I'll try to get an authentic Mexican meal.
Are you a light or over packer?
VT: Light. Because you know what, if it's not a medical thing—if it's not contacts, your retainer that's custom fit to your teeth, or a medication that you need to be taking—you can just buy it there. So I would rather just travel with my little carryon and my purse and ride it out. I’m not checking bags. Never, never. I've had too many snafus where my bag has been lost and my trip has been derailed. Now I just have my carry-on and my little personal item and I make it work.
What are some of your carry-on essentials?
VT: First and foremost, contacts—your girl needs to see. Second, my night guard. Like I said, for things that I do need to pack, it's the things that I can't replace. I also like to have a Kitsch hair roller so I can have heatless curls on the plane. It’s really helpful if I want to look cute as soon as I hop off, especially if I have a meeting. I’ve got to have headphones so I can listen to music and lock in on my work. And I like to have a little bit of lip balm or a moisturizer because you can get really crusty on the plane. I like Laneige.
What are your travel self-care must-haves?
VT: I need a Neutrogena face wipe in case I need to refresh and wipe all my makeup off. I would say another tried and true is the hypochlorous SOS spray from Tower 28. It really helps to keep my face nice and hydrated no matter what climate I'm in. And then most important is sunscreen, everybody needs to be wearing an SPF. I don't care who you are, I don't care how old you are. I don't care what your skin looks like. You need an SPF. We all need to be protected from UVA and UVB rays. It stands for, “You vill age and you vill burn.” I really love the Coola spray in the mini bottle and I love the Supergoop tinted sunscreen.
What's your favorite way to pass time on a plane?
VT: Honestly, working. I find that I am never more productive than on a plane because there's nowhere to go and you can usually only get wifi on one device unless you want to pay extra. So I'll get it on my laptop and not my phone. And that way I am locked in and the time just goes so fast and I feel so productive. And once I get there, I don't have to actually think about work.
Do you get recognized when you travel?
VT: I do, and it's so fun. It’s also really humbling that my content has been recognized globally at this point. Whether it's Americans traveling abroad or even just local members of the community recognizing me, it just is a reminder that the content I make has really helped a lot of people. And that's the best gift I can receive.
What is the weirdest thing you've ever tried to bring through airport security?
VT: When I was working at my last full-time corporate job, I was meeting with a client and I wanted to bring them some gifts. One of the gifts that we had was branded cookware. So I ended up bringing 20 multicolored tongs through security in my carry-on. I got through security and the TSA agent was like, “Ooh, somebody's a chef here.” And I was like, “Thank you for my 20 tongs. That's embarrassing.” But it was perfectly fine. It went through the metal detector and they knew what it was, luckily.